Cheese Buns
by arollercoasterthatonlygoesup
Summary: Peeta Mellark gives Katniss Everdeen cheese buns. Threeshot. Set both pre and post epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

I'm trying to remember how; exactly I'm supposed to arrange the cards to play the game the doctor tried to explain to me over the phone when he knocks on the door. I don't give the cards a second thought once I realize who it is knocking. It's obviously him, with the exception of Haymitch and Greasy Sae, Peeta is the only one brave enough to talk to me. Something about his hesitant knock makes me sure that it's him. I'm right. His hair is a mess and he looks so tired, but it's him.  
"I couldn't sleep," Peeta tells me, lifting the paper bags in his hands as if they're evidence.  
"Me neither," I say, stepping out of the way so he can actually come inside. I don't miss the way that he glances around. I'm relieved that Greasy Sae cleans, because otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't be anywhere near as satisfied as he seems to be with what he sees.  
"I wasn't trying to pry or anything," he sets the bags down on the table. "I just noticed that your lights were on. I figured I'd go ahead and drop these by while I was up."  
"Are you not coming for breakfast?" I ask, and he blinks, as if my question caught him off guard.  
"I had planned on it," he says softly, staring at the floor. I don't think I'm imagining the insecurity in his voice. "But if you'd prefer that I didn't…." his voice trails off.  
"No." I say quickly. "I want you here. I do. You just normally bring the bread by in the morning, that's all."  
He nods once. "If you're sure…"  
"I am," I say.  
"I don't want to overstay my welcome."  
"You couldn't." It's too much. I'm sure of it, because his head snaps up and tilts slightly to the side while he examines me. I've been so careful to keep my emotions out of things until now and with two simple words I've ruined everything. He was doing me a kindness, coming over here so I didn't have to sit alone in this empty house and I've left him more confused than before. I don't deserve him. I never have, and now I've set him back. If he has to go back to the Capitol, back to therapy, it will be my fault and no one else's.  
"You want me here. Real or not real?" he asks after a few seconds.  
"Real." I say firmly.  
The corners of his mouth turn up slightly, and I'm relieved that I haven't pushed things too far this time.  
"You can sit down," I suggest before I drop into a chair. I'm pleased when he doesn't hesitate before he sits down across from me. I open the bag slowly, and I can't help the grin that spreads across my face when I notice the thin layer of cheese baked into the crust. "You remembered."  
"They're your favorite, right?" he asks. "I was baking tonight, and I just kind of… started taking out the ingredients out before I really knew what I was doing."  
"Right," I push the bag towards him and he pulls one out for himself.  
"I thought so." He smiles proudly. "I'm getting better, you know."  
"I know you are." I tell him honestly, biting into the cheese bun.  
His smile somehow grows.  
He doesn't bring bread the next morning, or any other morning after that. Instead, he brings cheese buns.

* * *

**Author's Note: **  
**My interpretation of the cheese buns are little round balls of dough with a thin layer of cheese baked into them. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Katniss?" he asks at dinner one night. He's turning a cheese bun over in his hands and I'm sure it's an excuse not to look at me. "Have you ever, I don't know, uh, thought about us?"  
"What about us?" I ask.  
"Just where our… relationship is headed,"  
I look for an answer but I come up short. I have thought about our relationship before, specifically how terrified I am for the day that he'll realize that I'll never give him the children he wants and end it, but I don't want to tell him that. I don't want to give him any ideas.  
"I've just been thinking lately," his hands are moving faster now. He's nervous. "It's been almost two years now and um… I was wondering if… I just thought that maybe… Do you want to make toast with me?" He looks up at me for the first time, his eyes hopeful and anxious. "Not just make toast but, um..."  
I take a deep breath, staring at the bread in his hands, which hasn't stopped moving. I don't know how long we sit like that, him spinning the bread and me staring at it, but it feels like forever. I know this man, he's kind and he's honest and he's straightforward. He's not asking me for children right now, he's asking me to marry him.  
"Forget I said anything," he says right as I tell him that I will. "Katniss," he says softly, dropping the bread onto the table. "Did you say yes?"  
"Yes," I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face. "I did. I want to make toast with you."  
I've never seen him smile more widely. "Katniss!" he scrambles to his feet and holds onto me tightly when I stand up to kiss him.  
"Can I have that cheese bun?" I ask when we pull away. He looks at me strangely, but retrieves it. He hands it to me, maybe expecting me to eat it. Instead, I split it and give him half. I watch as the realization hits him. His smile somehow grows.  
"Ready?" he asks, linking arms with me.  
"Ready." I tell him honestly, resting my head on him as we walk towards the fireplace. I feel giddy when I realize that I won't have to let go of him anytime soon.


End file.
